Which of the following is TRUE of Huntington’s disease?
a. There is a loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra.
b. The symptoms can be effectively treated.
c. The earlier the onset, the more rapid the deterioration.
d. It is caused by environmental toxins.
Which statement most accurately describes embryonic development of the nervous
system in humans?
a. The majority of cells remain as primitive neurons until birth.
b. All synapses that are formed are permanent.
c. Neurons form before birth; synapses form after birth.
d. Far more neurons are produced than will ultimately survive.
Alpha waves are characteristic of what type of activity?
a. NREM sleep
b. Nightmares
c. relaxed wakefulness
d. periods of great excitement
The ____ nucleus of the thalamus is associated with pain perception of the body.
a. anterior
b. posterior
c. ventral posterior
d. ventral lateral
What is the relationship between heritability estimates and environmental factors?
a. High environmental consistency raises heritability estimates.
b. High environmental consistency lowers heritability estimates.
c. Environments have no effect on heritability estimates.
d. The effects of the environment on heritability estimates are unpredictable.
Light from the right half of the world strikes what part of the retina?
a. the left half
b. the right half
c. the whole retina equally
d. It depends of the wavelength.
How is it possible to prevent the mental retardation that is generally associated with
PKU?
a. Through exercise
b. Through diet
c. Through drugs
d. Through exposure to bright light
A distinctive feature of itch is that it relies on:
a. axons that go directly from the skin to the cerebral cortex.
b. axons that make several synapses before reaching the spinal cord.
c. unusually fast axons.
d. unusually slow axons.
Which of the following would be easiest for someone who is motion blind?
a. dressing themselves
b. driving a car
c. taking the dog for a walk
d. filling a pitcher with water
Given their effects on the nervous system, one side effect of over-the-counter cold
remedies is increased:
a. digestive activity.
b. salivation.
c. heart rate.
d. sinus flow.
Which of the following is TRUE related to peripheral vision?
a. It is very sensitive to detail.
b. It is easier to recognize single objects in the periphery that are not surrounded by
other objects.
c. It is not very sensitive to light.
d. It is most sensitive to color.
Once LTP has been established:
a. it remains dependent on NMDA synapses.
b. it fades quickly.
c. AMPA receptors convert into NMDA receptors.
d. the AMPA receptors are more responsive to glutamate.
Which of the following is NOT a common characteristic of narcolepsy?
a. Attacks of sleepiness during the day
b. Attacks of muscle weakness during the day
c. Involuntary movements of the limbs during sleep
d. Dreamlike experiences that are hard to distinguish from reality
What is paradoxical about paradoxical sleep?
a. It serves restorative functions, and yet the body has no apparent need for it.
b. It is light sleep in some ways and deep sleep in other ways.
c. It depends on serotonin for its onset and acetylcholine for its offset.
d. It is associated with dreaming although brain activity is low.
In real life situations, men are upset ____ women by emotional infidelity.
a. more than
b. less than
c. about the same as
The current view of how we perceive frequencies greater than 1,000 but less than 5,000
Hz is based on:
a. the frequency of responses by each auditory neuron.
b. volleys of responses by many auditory neurons.
c. the area along the basilar membrane where neurons fire most rapidly.
d. the ratio of firing among three types of receptors.
The spinal cord communicates with:
a. sense organs and muscles below the level of the head.
b. all sense organs and muscles in the human body.
c. dorsal root ganglia only.
d. ventral root ganglia only.
The fluid-filled cavity of the developing neural tube becomes the:
a. forebrain.
b. midbrain.
c. spinal cord.
d. ventricular system.
Spatial neglect occurs after damage in the:
a. anterior cortex.
b. posterior cortex.
c. left hemisphere.
d. right hemisphere.
After serotonin or one of the catecholamine transmitters stimulates the postsynaptic
receptor, most of the transmitter molecules:
a. remain on the receptor until other neurotransmitters replace them.
b. are broken into components while still attached to the postsynaptic cell.
c. are metabolized by the postsynaptic cell as a source of energy.
d. are reabsorbed by the presynaptic cell.
What causes the primitive gonads to develop into masculine structures?
a. the X chromosome
b. the sex region Y (SRY) gene
c. the sexually dimorphic nucleus
d. Mllerian inhibiting hormone
One function of the thalamus is to:
a. relay sensory information to the cerebral cortex.
b. regulate sleep cycles.
c. direct the secretions of the hypothalamus.
d. moderate emotional outbursts.
During habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia, the change in the nervous
system takes place at the:
a. axon hillock of the sensory receptor.
b. axon of the motor neuron.
c. synapse between the sensory neuron and the motor neuron.
d. inhibitory neurons that connect to the motor neuron.
Leptin is produced by:
a. the paraventricular nucleus.
b. body fat.
c. neuropeptide Y.
d. orexin A.
Visual information from the lateral geniculate area goes to the:
a. retina.
b. primary visual cortex.
c. thalamus.
d. hypothalamus.
Our brains respond to plant chemicals because:
a. plants use chemicals similar to neurotransmitters.
b. animals evolved from plants.
c. plants have evolved neuron-like cells.
d. those are the only chemicals that are stable at common environmental temperatures.
Loudness is to ____ as pitch is to ____.
a. frequency; intensity
b. amplitude; frequency
c. pitch; tone
d. amplitude; intensity
In development, neurotrophins ____. During adulthood, they ___.
a. preserve neurons; produce apoptosis
b. produce apoptosis; increase neuronal branching
c. facilitate differentiation; facilitate migration
d. preserve neurons; increase neuronal branching
Which of the following best describes the process by which developing axons find their
general target areas?
a. completely random growth
b. shape attraction
c. electrical attraction
d. chemical attraction
Local anesthetic drugs, such as Novocain, work by:
a. opening the potassium gates.
b. blocking the sodium gates.
c. inactivating the sodium-potassium pump.
d. decreasing blood flow to certain areas of the brain.
Homeothermic organisms include:
a. amphibians and reptiles.
b. reptiles and fish.
c. amphibians and fish.
d. mammals and birds.
At later stages of the neuron’s development, neurotrophins:
a. increase the branching of axons.
b. cause the neuron’s death.
c. become converted into myelin.
d. connect the axon to axons of adjoining cells.
What will NOT affect the speed of an action potential?
a. the presence of myelin
b. the diameter of the axon
c. the length of the axon
d. the number of sodium gates
If a trait has high heritability:
a. hereditary differences account for none of the observed variations in that
characteristic within that population.
b. the environment cannot influence that trait.
c. it is still possible for the environment to influence that trait.
d. the trait is not influenced by heredity.